The Spring 2023 Manga Guide

Ogi's Summer Break

What's It About? 

It's love at first sight for Haruto Ogi when he befriends Tago, a vision-impaired high school student who navigates the world with a cane and and a carefree, forthright attitude. But when Tago proposes that they go out for the summer, Ogi is torn between excitement and a deep-seated certainty that the connection between them isn't meant to last.

Behind Ogi's flinching uncertainty is a deeper fear of rejection, and Tago's casual approach toward their relationship only makes him more self conscious. For the first time, Ogi feels like he can be himself, because Tago can't see his appearance and judge him by his 'eccentricities.' But does Tago really care for Ogi as his boyfriend, or does he just want to keep Ogi's friendly presence by his side?

Ogi's Summer Break has story and art by Koikawa, with English translation by Christine Dashiell, lettered and touched up by Vibrraant Publishing Studio. Tokyopop released the first volume digitally in January and will release the physical version on May 16.

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

The second manga in this Guide to feature a visually impaired romantic interest, Ogi's Summer Break doesn't quite go far enough. I don't mean in terms of Tago's legal blindness – that's handled lightly and with a fair amount of grace. It's part of Tago as a character, but it doesn't have anything to do with Ogi's feelings for the other young man. There are moments when I wish the creator had read A. Andrews' A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability, but on the whole, it's just a thing in the story. The bigger plot issue is that there simply isn't a lot of interiority to any of the characters: Kanako's the jealous friend who has an unrequited crush on Ogi, Ogi's the bisexual lead, and Tago's the slightly younger other romantic lead. While Tago's brother comes in at the end, he also doesn't do a whole lot, making the entire book feel a little superficial.

That stands to change in the second volume. Ogi is consistently drawn as what I would classify as gender fluid – he uses he/him pronouns, but some days dresses more femininely and others more masculinely. There's no rhyme or reason; it's just clear how he feels on any given day. There is a scene when a little girl in a restaurant asks him if he's a girl because of his painted nails and flower bracelet, to which Ogi cheerfully responds that he's a boy who just likes cute things. Tago, who is only tangentially aware of how Ogi looks, doesn't care, and so we as readers just accept it. That changes when Tago's brother shows up and actively (and rudely) questions whether or not Ogi is secretly trans. When Tago flat-out asks him, Ogi freezes, at which point the book ends. Where the story goes from this moment could change any lukewarm feelings, so it may be a better plan to wait until both volumes are available before reading.

This moment comes a bit too late, however. The story is otherwise fairly bland, with Ogi and Tago mostly just walking around and a few random sexual moments thrown in to spice things up. The art is simple and not unattractive, but it doesn't do much to add to the story's overall interest. Overall, Ogi's Summer Break is a surface-level book in its first volume. It isn't bad, but it doesn't do much to make itself good, either.

MrAJCosplay

Rating:

Ogis Summer Break is a peculiar series that honestly leaves me a bit confused as to what type of message it's actually trying to communicate and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. This is a story about a young boy who is still in the throes of discovering his sexuality and how he develops a rather unique relationship with a blind boy who seems to just be going through the motions. There are a lot of interesting conversations about guilt regarding sexuality and reciprocating feelings. Some of it felt very uncomfortable and in some cases, close-minded but more so from the perspective of the characters rather than the author. A lot of the characters did feel very selfish and confused by how others talk about things or how they present themselves but I think that's just genuinely how a lot of people are when they feel unsatisfied with certain relationships that don't end up going their way. If anything, I have to kind of commend the author for writing characters like that and showing us the perspective of people that might feel a bit slanted even though no one is at fault

If I look at this book as a simple romance then I do think it falls a bit short because there are moments where it feels like characters act in ways that are confusing and poorly explained. Plus, there's not a lot of insight into what draws certain characters together or why they feel the compulsion to do the things that they do. There are even some interactions that just feel weird and uncomfortable like…watching porn with your brother and having him describe what's going on. However, if I look at this as a story of self-discovery and experimentation, then I do actually have to praise the manga rather highly in that regard because I can see the rather messy character writing as an intentional choice for the sake of communicating that messy stage in a lot of people's lives. It does make the story a bit harder to recommend to people but I do think it's at least worth your time if you're curious at all about a romance story that isn't as traditional as a lot of the ones that we've come to expect these days.